AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG Receives Prize

Prize for an industry role model: this Wednesday, 19 November 2014, the distribution centre of AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG in Münster received the Prevention Award from the Statutory Accident Insurance Body for the Wholesale and Retail Trade (BGHW) for the contribution "Augen principle in distribution".

"We are proud that our solutions in respect of health and safety at work are also viewed positively by an official body and have been awarded a prize", Ralf Gleitsmann (Head of the Distribution Centre) states happily; together with Peter Erhardt (AGRAVIS Safety at Work), he received the award from Dr Wolfgang Uslar (BGHW).

Every year, the BGHW awards a prize to innovative contributions to a company's health and safety at work policy, which can be regarded as exemplary in their sector and give suggestions to other companies. The contribution "Augen principle" stands for:

A rbeitsschutz (safety at work),

U mweltschutz (environmental protection),

G esundheitsschutz (health protection)

E ffizienz (efficiency),

N utzen (benefit) for all.

Uslar praised the complex system that the AGRAVIS distribution centre is systematically implementing in respect of health and safety at work, the environment and efficiency across the entire logistical process. Ralf Gleitsmann and Peter Erhardt made particular reference to the ideas of employees, which constantly refine safety at work: "Our employees see, in their everyday activities, the processes and interfaces that can be optimized, and contribute their experiences."

Accordingly, employees have had an influence on the acquisition of new conveying and picking vehicles. After testing the vehicles of various manufacturers, the vote went in favour of those manufactured by Linde. These vehicles impressed the operators both in terms of occupational safety by virtue of intelligent details like a blue LED spot for warning pedestrians and an operator's overhead guard made of bullet-proof glass and in terms of health protection due to ergonomic aspects and, in addition, are very efficient due to lower energy consumption. "In addition to business advantages, we took the employees' suggestions and requests into account when selecting the vehicles", Gleitsmann stressed. "Ultimately, the everyday experience of routine work is crucial for the entire logistics system. Which is why the prize has been earned above all by the employees." Employees will thus also benefit from the 500 euro prize money: it will be included in the new design of the recreation area.